Lynn Frohnmayer to receive Pioneer Award

EUGENE, Ore. -- (April 30, 2009) -- Lynn Frohnmayer, an ardent advocate for the welfare of children, will be honored for her work Friday, May 1, with the University of Oregon's 2009 Pioneer Award.

The award will be given at the annual Pioneer Award Gala to be held this year at The Nines Hotel in Portland. Frohnmayer was chosen for the honor by a committee of UO alumni and friends who plan the annual Pioneer Award event.

"Lynn Frohnmayer has devoted her life to children, making a difference in the lives of thousands while raising five children of her own and courageously facing tremendous personal tragedy," said John Herman of Portland, chair of the Pioneer Award Gala steering committee.

The black-tie event will include a reception, dinner, and program. Net proceeds will go to the Pioneer Award Presidential Scholarship, and those who wish can contribute to the scholarship fund even if they don't attend.

Inaugurated in 1979, the UO Pioneer Award is presented to alumni and others who have become leaders and risk-takers in their fields. Past winners include Lorry Lokey, founder of Business Wire media relations company and the university's top academic donor; Ann Curry, a 1978 UO graduate and news anchor on the NBC "Today Show," and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, a 1959 UO graduate.

Lynn Frohnmayer served as a case worker and branch manager for the Oregon Children's Services Division, was one of the founders of the Lane County Relief Nursery and continues to work as a volunteer for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. She and her husband, Dave, UO president for the past 15 years, established the fund to combat a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of two of their daughters and afflicts a third.

For their groundbreaking work on Fanconi Anemia, Lynn and Dave received the 1999 Research America national advocacy award for health-related research and the 2000 Albert B. Sabin Heroes of Science Award from the Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation.

Lynn and Dave were also named the First Citizens of Eugene in 1998. In addition, Lynn received the Portland March of Dimes White Rose Women of Achievement Award in 2002.

Lynn also worked as a national trainer promoting an initiative to get abused and neglected children out of the revolving door of foster care and into permanent homes.

After growing up in Grants Pass, Ore., Lynn received her bachelor's degree in history from Stanford University in 1964 and her master's in social work from Smith College in 1968. From 1964-66, she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer on the Ivory Coast, teaching English to French-speaking African children and writing a language textbook.

For more information about the Pioneer Award Gala and the scholarship fund, call the Special Events Office in the UO Office of Development, 541-346-1670.

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